Abstract [en]

The purpose of this study is mainly to study the cohesion of the men's and women's teams and investigate any differences / similarities. The authors also intend to explore coaches perceptions about their own role in the cohesion of a team, and their perceptions of how cohesion is created and maintained. A total of 96 male and female handball players, in division 1 and 2, from age 16 to 34 participated in the quantitative study, and four coaches participated in the qualitative survey. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the cohesion of the men and women, as the female handball players experienced a higher level of cohesion then the male handball players. Further, the results showed that the coaches felt that the cohesion is different in men's and women's teams,as women attach higher value to how well the members of the group get along and men tend to focus on their own performance. Finally, the results showed that cohesion should be constantly maintained in order to achieve success. The results were discussed in relation to different theoretical perspectives.